So fresh from his three-film exploration into iconic 80s horror, film maker David Weiner returns to tackle 90s horror. If you’ve been lucky enough to watch In Search of Darkness Parts I – III, you should have some sort of idea what you’re in store for- a well-made, interesting and entertaining documentary that reminds you of some of those films that made you fall in love with the horror genre in the first place. And this new documentary is no different.
Hooked On Horror Review - In Search of Darkness: 1990 - 1994
Film icons and genre experts share observations, experiences and analysis to help reframe, deconstruct and re-contextualise the "lost" decade of horror: the '90s.
The film features a decent introduction that sets the scene and gives almost a backstory as to what the world looked like early 90s. And of course, what we see on film (and TV) at the time is arguably a product of the world we’re living in. The 90s was a time of creativity and innovation as well as a monumental time of cultural shifts; so, it was a great way to start this documentary. Actually, gave the viewer some context without going into too much detail and boring them to death.
There was a good amount of detail put into this, with the viewer being treated to basically a summary of the social and economic landscape of the early 90s. The race riots following the Rodney King beating, grunge music coming onto the scene, the change in tone and values, coming out of the end of the Aids CRISIS in the 1980s which of course paved the way for what the LGBTQ+ Community regard as a huge shift for gay rights, rise of the video store and the VHS market and the Gulf War were just a few things mentioned. This was then brought round into how it affected film (horror in particular- obviously!) and Hollywood at the time.
Straight from the beginning, we get an array of familiar faces just in this opening segment for the film. Including Alex Winter, Sandy King Carpenter, Fangoria’s Phil Noble Jr., Mike Flanagan, Heather Langenkamp, John Carpenter and David Dastmalchian. The guest interviewees are plentiful throughout the film, and an absolute delight to watch. There’s just something uniquely enjoyable about watching a make-up artist, film maker or actor/actress you admire geek out over the same stuff you do.
Heather Langenkamp talks Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
These guests range from horror royalty, to cast and crew involved in some of the films being discussed, to just celebrities and personalities that are HUGE horror fans. This is one of the parts that I will admit kept me intrigued, the film is spilt into sections (I’ll explain in a moment) and each section always featured someone new. None of the interviews felt rushed, forced or unnatural which is always an added bonus when watching a documentary. A lot better to just give people the talking points and let them run wild with it; so, kudos to the director again- smashed it. Seeing Corey Taylor again in this was a highlight for me and Brian Yuzna is bloody hilarious.
As I said briefly above the film is split into sections, which I will admit can make for easier viewing as you can make a more informed decision as to where to call it a night. The film is split into the following titles (in order)-
The 90s – Setting the Stage
1990
What’s in a label? Thriller vs Horror Stigma
1991
The Emergence of CGI & Future AI Fears
1992
Trash Horror: Backyard Filmmakers & Micro-Budget Madness
1993
Terror on TV in the 90s: Gateway to Horror
1994
Famous Last Words
This documentary boasts an impressive 6 hour and 2-minute run time, and I’ll admit I don’t think even I’d manage to do it in one sitting. And that’s not detracting from how great this documentary is, I’d just rather be able to enjoy all of it and actually take in what I’m watching. And honestly you don’t really notice the runtime. Like you’re watching some things and they feel like they go on forever, and you take little to no enjoyment from them (like when I watched In a Violent Nature and left the cinema questioning my life choices…Christ that one was painful), but this kept me intrigued and interested throughout.
This title delivers on its promise of taking us on a journey into ‘Iconic 90s Horror’, as David Weiner talks about a variety of films pulling focus of course to the more well known, mainstream ‘Big’ horror pictures of the time, but not forgetting the odd, weird, sick and damn right obscure films that also played a major part in 90s horror.
The greats/classics included The Silence of the Lambs, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Leprechaun, Army of Darkness, Misery, The Exorcist III, Tom Savini’s 1990 remake of The Night of the Living Dead, Body Bags, The People Under the Stairs, Candyman, Child’s Play 2 and 3, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Tremors and Nightbreed. And then on the flip side, the lesser known, more obscure films included The Suckling, Dollman vs Demonic Toys, Cronos, Innocent Blood, Bloodmoon, Mirror Mirror, Nekromantik 2, Schramn, Ghostwatch, Trauma, Popcorn and Hiruko the Goblin. I’m pretty happy there’s a watchlist included in the release booklet for this one…few I haven’t seen.
One thing you are always at risk of with a documentary of course is keeping your audience, because let’s be honest having someone just sat talking to a camera is boring as f*ck. But as I said above, this was engaging and kept my interest peaked throughout. The variety and diversity of those on screen was great to see, and when intercut with film clips and other archive footage it made for an entertaining 6 hours that flew by. Everyone brought their A-Game and their love, and enthusiasm, for 90s horror was rather infectious.
Some of the behind-the-scenes stories were hilarious, there was even a few I genuinely had no idea about- which was a welcomed surprise. I was glad they gave a small section of these film to the horror television that began to rise in the 90s. I am hoping we get a bit more on Tales From the Crypt, Goosebumps, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Are You Afraid of the Dark? in the next film. One thing I loved, was that Ghostwatch got talked about. It’s a thing of legend here in the UK.
For those of you who don’t know what Ghostwatch is, it was a mockumentary TV movie that was broadcast to the British public on BBC 1 Halloween night 1992. Despite being fake, this was broadcast to the public as a ‘LIVE’ broadcast, hosted by Michael Parkinson, that would give concrete evidence of the paranormal and life after death. of course, things go wrong quickly and it scared the actual shit out of the thousands that watched this paranormal event unfold ‘LIVE’ on national television. There was uproar following the programme with mass hysteria- similar to what happened when Orson Welles first broadcast War of the Worlds back in 1938. Honestly, go Google it and read about it.
My only real complaint with the film, I feel Weiner sort of just glossed over Terminator 2: Judgement Day & Jurassic Park. Wasn’t much depth about their importance and significance for not only the horror genre, but for film (and filmmaking) as a whole when they released. I mean I get why T2 wasn’t talked about in depth in a horror documentary, but I feel they missed an opportunity to talk about how Jurassic Park changed movie monsters. However, in the grand scheme of things I consider this a small hiccup in an otherwise flawless documentary.
The soundtrack is fantastic again. Somewhat similar to what Weary Pines did on the three previous films on 80s horror, Dream Invaders provides an interesting score that beautifully captures the essence of 90s music and changes along within the timeline as the film progresses from 1990 to 1994.
In closing I went in thinking I knew a lot about 90s horror, and this has opened my eyes up to films that I have yet to watch. Another fantastic documentary and a must watch for horror fans- and hey, you may even learn a thing or two! I am very excited for the next one…mainly as we start looking at the years your dear old reviewer here started discovering what this genre could offer me. I’m looking forward to continuing this journey in iconic 90s horror. No bloody idea where I’m gonna find the time to make my way through this watchlist though…
In Search of Darkness: 1990 - 1994 - A Journey into Iconic 90s Horror is out now. You can get a copy or find out more info via their WEBSITE. You can check out the trailer below.
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